It's not really relevant to your current situation but might be useful in the future and I hesitate to say this cos landlords are ( quite often rightly ) seen as scum, but seeing I can't be neg. repped I'll risk it !
For the normal reasons ( moving in together many years ago ) we have more than one house and rather than selling one we rent my old house out.
If I was a tenant I'd rent somewhere for six months, decide if you like the house / area / get on with the landlord / am happy to make a longer commitment etc then I'd try and arrange a longer term let of the same place. That way you get some stability.
If your landlord sees you as a good tenant they'll probably be happy to do this. You should be able to arrange a better price for the rental ( because each tenancy a landlord starts has start up costs associated with it, esp. if the landlord is using a finding agent when generally the landlord kisses goodbye to the first months rent, or thereabouts ) and your rent would typically be fixed for the length of the agreement. So, if your agreement is for two years you'd agree a fixed monthly rental for that period. If rents in your area go up, then you win, if they go down the landlord wins.
If you take up a longish lease then, you might want to arrange a break clause, which gives you the right to exit the lease either at fixed times ( say 12 or 18 months ) or at any time after six months. But the break clause works both ways so you could end up on two months notice again. Two months is fairly standard.
For example. Our current tenant is in a steady job with minimal chance of redundancy. She doesn't want to buy but wanted to put down roots in the area so she's recently taken on a two year fixed lease. Rents round here would normally be about £550 / month but cos she's a model tenant ( and, tbh, has a great pair of t*ts ) she's on < £500 / month - everyones happy.
btw - landlords check references from previous landlords. Be careful what you leave behind !
